Politics Around The Globe

(Photo Source:Yahoo News)
Exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide — the slum priest turned president who clamored a U.S. intervention to restore him to power in 1994, and who accuses Washington of kidnapping him into exile a decade later as the country descended into political chaos. The need for Aristide’s return was deafening during last week’s unrest over skyrocketing food prices that left at least seven people dead, hundreds injured and Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis out of a job. Some protesters vowed to press on until they unseat President Rene Preval, a former Aristide ally. Experts say it is unlikely that Aristide engineered the protests from exile in South Africa. But people living in Port-au-Prince slums say workers for a prominent Aristide loyalist went door-to-door drumming up support for the peaceful protests, some of which spiraled into violence as criminal gangs seized the opportunity to loot stores.

Almost at the top of world crisis is terrorism, that of extremist religious sects waging a war against other people in order to unite them under one religion or to avenge any slight done to their people. These radicals are some of the most dangerous people in the world, for they kill for neither pleasure nor money, but for their principles and faith. Governments around the world must find a way to achieve peace with them and to gain a sort of middle ground to agree on, because failure to do so will result to more innocent deaths and widespread destruction.

A new trend is now arising among terrorists – that of self-radicalization. People under this category are not members of any sect nor are some of them even bonafide Muslims, but they have radicalized themselves online and through other means. This is an alarming trend because the genuine terrorists may use this event to intensify their recruitment process, through the internet, printed material and such. A number of Singaporeans are currently behind bars for trying to enter extremist sects and join the holy war called Jihad. They are now a new breed of terrorists who do not even need to be in foreign countries in order to participate in terrorist activities.

It is a great achievement by United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon to have been able to talk Burma into letting aid come into their area. Foreign aid has been shooed away by Burma, and it seemed as though it did not care a bit for its citizens who are dying and starving in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis’ rampage. Thecyclone left 134,000 people dead and missing, while those who managed to survive are struggling to find something to eat and somewhere to live, and are at risk of widespread disease. For the, Burma has now been opened to allow foreign aid into the country to help out the victims.

The boycott of the Olympic games which are going to be held at Beijing, China can give one ambivalent thoughts towards the advocacies of those initiating the boycott. Yes, it is known that they are concerned for the human rights of the Tibetan citizens, but is it right to show utter disrespect towards the symbol of many hardworking athletes around the world? It is not right to douse the fires of the Olympic torch because in doing so, the people involved are actually disregarding what it really stands for—the ideals of peace, unity and equality among the nations of the world.

The International Court of Justice has given Singapore sovereignty with regards to the island in dispute with Malaysia at the entrance of the Singapore Straits to the east, which houses a landmark 150-year old lighthouse which guides passing ships daily to safety. Both Singapore and Malaysia want possession of the rock, and bothe claim that their countries legally own and have historical possession over the island. The 16-member court ruled in favor of Singapore which argued that it had ruled with sovereign powers over the island since 1851, with no dissent being heard from Malaysia since the recent thirty years.

Cyclone Nargis, which left a lot of Myanmar in ruins, has already left, but along with the crisis’ devastation, the people of Myanmar were still left in tatters because its military junta would not allow aid workers to enter the country because they were scared that these were only spies posing as help. Recently though, the military junta has decided to allow United Nations aid workers to enter Myanmar, and this news is a great one for the citizens. In the future, the military should be more vigilant in caring for their people, because as the leaders, they should be the ones at the forefront trying to better the welfare of the devastated citizens of Myanmar and not putting first their own selfish agenda.

Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, two senators with hopes of running for US President, are set to make history, no matter who wins. It’s either the United States gets a taste of being led by a first female president, or to be governed by the first black president to grace its Oval office. The presidential race is a symbol for new grounds, and with these two candidates, substantial change is sure to come to the most powerful country in the world and its citizens. In the end, the elections would not be about gender or color, the country and its people would ultimately decide who is most worthy to take the reigns of the United States.